Mainframe, MVS and zOS Discussion

Hi,

Is there something wrong to declare a numeric variable as S9(11).9(1) in Cobol? I get compilation error if I try this.

Please help in knowing what is wrong with this?

Yes, there is something wrong -- the compiler is telling you that you cannot do that.

The period means your data is numeric-edited, NOT numeric. And the S is allowed for numeric data but not numeric-edited PICTURE clauses. You can use +, -, CR, or DB to denote the sign in a numeric-edited PICTURE, but you cannot use the S.